Bottles of champagne and sparkling wine are opened with a concern for safety that can be created by the unintended projection of the cork from the neck of the bottle at a velocity that can cause personal injury or property damage. The process for manually opening champagne bottles having at least partially external corks includes removing any outer foil wrapper and the wire basket and then cautiously removing the cork. Corks are manually removed by rotating and/or, directing pressure on the cork relative to the bottle. As the frictional forces holding the cork are overcome, the cork is projected from the bottle.
Devices for aiding the extraction of corks from champagne bottles can provide for a controlled release of pressure, and attempt to limit the unintended popping of the cork as a projectile from the bottle. Cork removing devices vary in their structures and methods and can range from a complex assembly mounted on a table or platform to hand held devices.
These devices, however, either lack the mobility of a hand held device or fail to provide an adequate measure of safety against the unexpected projection of a cork from the bottle.
It is therefore a principal object of the invention to provide an apparatus and a method of using a hand-held cork extractor from champagne type bottles that engages the neck of the bottle, separately grips the cork and permits a controlled extraction of the cork from the bottle.
It is another object of the invention to provide an apparatus and a method of using a hand held champagne cork extractor that includes a safety cover that is positionable over the cork during the controlled extraction process.